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Sports tipping

They say love is blind, and in the case of tipping this is known to be true. Being loyal to your favourite team can cloud your judgement when it comes to winning the big bucks. So we’re here to help you figure out your best tipping options!

The lazy tipper

If you’re a bit lazy and not all too fussed on whether or not you win, you can try your luck by flipping a coin. Many people do this and sometimes you can get lucky – but remember, it’s rare both teams have a 50/50 chance of winning, so be careful with this one.

Home advantage

Some people choose to tip the home team, assuming there is such a thing as ‘home advantage’.  Much like the coin flip, this is not a guaranteed win and ignores other factors. However, Stephen Clarke, who invented a computer program that generates predictions for every AFL game, estimates that the home ground advantage can be worth as much as a ten-point advantage in some games. So this might not be such a bad choice after all!

Now that’s a tall ladder

Tipping the leader is probably the most obvious method and is popular amongst the sport’s less dedicated followers. Predicting the winner by who is higher up in the ladder is actually a relatively successful method, with over a 70% success rate in AFL in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Wisdom of the crowd

Betting on the bookies is also a popular option, sometimes called relying on the ‘wisdom of the crowd’. If many punters start to support a team at a certain price, their odds will soon shorten. This is by far the most accurate method, and simply requires you to rely on the side with the shortest odds.

When it comes to tipping, you will always have to rely on an element of luck, even if you know everything about the game, the teams and the statistics. Choose whatever method feels best for you and do your research – and remember, practice makes perfect!

Now that you’re a betting expert, we think you’d love our NRL Tipping Comp where you can win over $100. It’s exclusive to LiveTribe members, but signing up is free! LiveTribe is an online community that offers paid surveys and competitions, much like this one. Sign up or log in and get tipping – we promise, you won’t regret it.